Lamb shanks in Guinness

SERVES 2

You cannot write a beer cookbook without doing a slow-cooked lamb and Guinness dish – so here is mine!

75 g (2½ oz/½ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

½ teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 good, meaty lamb shanks

3 tablespoons olive oil

8 French shallots, peeled

1 large carrot, cut on the diagonal into 1 cm (½ inch) slices

4 garlic cloves

2 fresh lemon thyme sprigs

2 dried bay leaves

12 kalamata olives

1 tomato, peeled and chopped

1 lemon peel strip, white pith removed

375 ml (13 fl oz/1½ cups) Guinness or other stout

250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) good beef stock

3 kipfler (fingerling) potatoes, cut into 2 cm (¾ inch) slices

24 green beans, topped and tailed

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4).

Put the flour, salt, black pepper, cardamom, cumin and cayenne pepper in a clean plastic bag and give it a good toss to combine. Add the shanks, twist the top around to seal, then give the bag another good shake to coat the shanks well. Remove the shanks from the bag, gently hit them together to knock off the excess flour, then set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a flameproof casserole dish over high heat. Add the shanks and brown on all sides. Add the shallots, carrot and garlic and cook for several minutes to colour them. Add the lemon thyme, bay leaves, olives, tomato and lemon peel. Stir to combine, then cook for about 5 minutes.

Stir in the stout and stock and bring to the boil. Put a lid on the dish, transfer to the oven and bake for 1 hour. Turn the shanks over and add the potatoes, then bake, covered, for another 1 hour.

Remove the lid, add the beans and cook for 5 minutes, or until the beans are cooked to your liking. The sauce should by now have reduced to a nice consistency, but if it hasn’t, transfer the shanks and vegetables to a large bowl and leave them in the turned-off oven to keep warm. Place the dish over medium–high heat and reduce the sauce to the desired consistency, then return the shanks and vegetables to the dish and mix well so they are all coated with the sauce.

Beer Notes

Other stouts you could use here include Mountain Goat Surefoot Stout, Nail Brewing Company Nail Stout, Coopers Best Extra Stout or Moo Brew Imperial Stout – there are lots of good stouts being made out there!